This case relates generally to inkjet printers using print cartridges, and more particularly to inkjet printers having a carriage for holding a plurality of print cartridges having different color inks.
The conventional approach for developing a family of monochrome inkjet printers/plotters is to have a monochrome version based on a first carriage and monochrome service station for respectively holding and servicing a monochrome print cartridge such as for black ink, and a color version based on a different carriage and related color service station for respectively holding and servicing a set of color print cartridges such as for cyan, yellow, magenta and black inks (typically abbreviated as C Y M K). For example, the Hewlett-Packard DESIGNJET 600 monochrome plotter provided two black ink print cartridges in a two-slot carriage, while the Hewlett-Packard DESIGNJET 650C color plotter provided four different color print cartridges in a four-slot carriage.
There have been prior products which used the same carriage design for both monochrome print cartridges as well as color print cartridges. For example, the Encad NOVAJET plotters used the same four-slot carriage for holding either four black ink cartridges, or alternatively four different color cartridges. In another example, the Hewlett-Packard DESKJET 500C used the same single-slot carriage for holding either one black ink cartridge, or alternatively one tri-compartment ink cartridge holding cyan, magenta and yellow ink. But both of these prior designs created problems associated with using the same carriage slots for different color ink cartridges as well as additional problems with the service stations having to accomodate both the monochrome as well as the color print cartridges. Accordingly, there is a need for designing a single cartridge monochrome printer which can be easily converted with an upgrade kit into a multiple cartridge color printer, without the complications and problems associated with the prior monochrome/color conversion techniques.